The MLB lockout continues with spring training already delayed. The Cardinals fare poorly in Baseball Prospectus PECOTA projections. Our history feature highlights the winningest Cardinals team of all-time, the 1942 World Champions.
MLB lockout updates
Commissioner Rob Manfred announced officially on Friday, February 18 that 2022 Spring Training would be delayed. All games for the first week – until at least March 5 – were canceled.
A bargaining session on Thursday, February 17 lasted only 15 minutes, according to media reports. The MLBPA reportedly made a counteroffer on their previous demands for changes in the arbitration process but also made a demand for an increase to the pre-arbitration bonus pool amount that MLB had offered. The league’s last offer was $15 million, far short of the union’s last demand of $100 million.
The short meeting highlighted the lack of progress in the attempt to come to an agreement and end the lockout. There was a meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss non-core economic issues.
The MLBPA’s arbitration counteroffer was reported to be a decrease in the amount of two-year players to enter the arbitration process from 100% to 80%. Currently only 22% of two-year players can go to arbitration (Super Twos).
The one issue that may be causing the most conflict between the sides is the Competitive Balance Tax. The union wants higher thresholds and a lower tax, while MLB is refusing to budge from its last offer, which increased the thresholds slightly, but raised the tax. The reasoning behind the union’s demand is to incentivize teams to spend more with a higher threshold and a lower penalty for exceeding the threshold, thus putting more money in the hands of players.
The talks are expected to increase this week, with both sides meeting on Monday, and perhaps multiple days during the week.
The MLBPA issued an announcement regarding the cancellation of spring games. The announcement pointed out that the league was not required to institute the lockout in the first place, therefore the cancellation of spring games is entirely within the league’s control.
For further updates, check this report every Monday.
PECOTA projections are gloomy, questionable
Baseball Prospectus released their first set of win-loss projections for the 2022 MLB season. Their PECOTA expectation for the Cardinals is a head-scratching 77 wins and 82 losses and a third-place finish in the National League Central Division.
BP undermines their own credibility by warning readers to not take PECOTA seriously, which causes one to wonder what good they are.
The record states that the Cardinals have finished below .500 just once in the 2000’s – over the last 22 years. The last three full seasons, they won 88, 91 and 90 games, with the vast majority of the 2021 roster returning.
BP's Highly Unofficial Lockout Standings Projections are now available! Remember not to take these too seriously with the lockout ongoing and so many free agents unsigned 😬https://t.co/kaGou85kIu pic.twitter.com/ibt7oeO1Bc
— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) February 18, 2022
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Looking Ahead
On December 1, the MLB/MLBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement expired. No new agreement was reached and the Commissioner’s Office announced that the owners of all 30 teams voted unanimously to institute a lockout of MLB players effective immediately.
As a result of the lockout, all major league transactions are halted indefinitely. Players and team personnel are prohibited from communicating with each other and players are not permitted to use team facilities. The parties may continue to negotiate to reach an agreement that would end the lockout.
The deadline for teams and arbitration eligible players to submit salary figures was originally on January 14. This deadline has been extended to a date after the lockout ends.
There will be no major league activity to report for the foreseeable future as long as the lockout continues.
Blast from the Past
Spring training has been officially delayed, but some hope remains that the regular season will be able to be played in full. As we await the start of spring training and the 141st St. Louis Cardinals season that will follow, this week’s Blast takes a look at what is arguably the best season ever played by a Cardinals team.
This will be the first article in a series of the top Cardinals teams, taking us at least to the top five, perhaps farther. The top teams are decided by the won/loss record for that season. While that may not necessarily be the best indicator, it is the simplest one.
The best St. Louis team of all time by won/loss record is the 1942 Cardinals. This was an era when games sometimes ended in ties due to travel and lack of lights at all baseball stadiums. The record of the 1942 Cardinals was 106-48-2. This team was managed by Billy Southworth, with home games played at Sportsman’s Park III.
The 1942 Cardinals featured position players Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, Marty Marion, Terry Moore, Whitey Kurowski, Walker Cooper, Johnny Hopp, and Jimmy Brown. Starting pitchers were Mort Cooper, Johnny Beazley, Max Lanier, Ernie White, and Lon Warneke. The entire roster was made up of homegrown Cardinals with the exception of one player, Harry Gumbert.
Musial and Slaughter were the top offensive players that season. Musial slashed .315/.397/.490 with 10 home runs and 72 RBI in 140 games. Slaughter’s line was .318/.412/.494 with 13 home runs and 98 RBI. This was Musial’s first full season in the majors, as he had played in only 12 games in 1941. Slaughter was in his fifth season, and it was one of his career best. He led the NL with 188 hits and topped all the major leagues in triples with 17. Slaughter finished second in the MVP vote in 1942 to teammate Mort Cooper.
Of the starting pitchers, Cooper and Beazley were both 20+ game winners. Cooper won 22 and Beazley 21. Cooper’s 1.78 ERA led the league and his 22 wins paced all major league pitchers. Cooper also led the majors in shutouts with 10. Beazley’s major league career lasted only six seasons, with three years missed because of service in World War II. 1942 was Beazley’s best by far and was the only time he got close to 20 wins. He injured his arm pitching while in the service and was never the same.
The Cardinals finished the season two games ahead of the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a close race between the two, as the third-place club, the New York Giants, finished 20 games back. Over the 156-game season, the Cardinals spent a total of only 16 days in first place. It was of course the last day that counted. Their biggest lead over the entire season was just three games.
The team’s longest winning streak was eight games, and their longest losing streak was four. The most runs allowed by the team was 13, in two games, one a 13-5 loss to Pittsburgh, and the second a 13-5 loss to Chicago. The most runs scored was 16 in a 16-4 win over the Giants on May 18.
The 1942 Cardinals met the New York Yankees in the World Series. Game 1 was played in Sportsman’s Park and the home team lost, 7-4. It was the only game they dropped in the series. Cooper was the starting and losing pitcher. Yankees pitcher Red Ruffing no hit the Cardinals until two outs in the eighth inning. All four of the Cardinal runs scored in the ninth.
Game 2 was also played in Sportsman’s Park and the Cardinals won 4-3. Johnny Beazley was the winning pitcher. The Cardinals led 3-0 on a Walker Cooper double and a triple by Whitey Kurowski. The Yankees tied it up in the eighth. The winning run scored in the eighth on an RBI single by Musial.
Game 3 was a 2-0 Cardinal win on a six-hit shutout by Cardinal pitcher Ernie White. Jimmy Brown and Slaughter drove in the runs at Yankee Stadium.
Game 4 was held in Yankee Stadium and became a 9-6 win by the Cardinals. The Yankees scored first to take a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals answered big in the fourth with six runs on RBI by Kurowski (2), Cooper (2), Terry Moore and Musial. The Yankees stormed back with a five-run inning sixth to tie it up. The Cardinals scored two in the seventh on an RBI single by Cooper and a sac fly by Marty Marion. The final run came in the ninth on a single by pitcher Max Lanier, who pitched the final three innings.
The Cardinals took the series in a 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 5 in Yankee Stadium. The lead changed hands several times, first to the Yankees, then the Cardinals, then the Yankees again. The Cardinals made it a 2-2 tie in the sixth, and then won it with two runs in the ninth on a two-run long ball by Kurowski. It was the only home run hit by a Cardinal in the series.
Next week, we jump forward to the 21st Century for a look at the second-best Cardinal team of all time.
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